Got to love the emergency exit row on the plane, aka “1st class for the working class.” I’m what you would call an “extra healthy” American so I greatly appreciate the extra legroom. Call me weird but getting my knees crushed milliseconds after takeoff by a rambunctious seat recline by the 5’2” middle-aged kindle-reading individual in front of me is not my idea of comfort.

The exit row comes with its responsibilities, though. You have to read the safety brochure to know how to throw the door out and you have to get the rafts floating. You have to actually pay attention to the flight attendant safety briefing because they give you extra guilty looks if you don’t. One of the most disregarded parts of the emergency exit row experience is the question they ask you before taxiing to the runway: “Are you willing and able to help out in case of an emergency?”

That question got me thinking…what if we asked a very similar question to students and our newer employees?

“Are are you willing and able to lead?”

I am very fortunate, I get to speak to thousands of individuals every year and one of the questions I most consistently get asked when I speak at colleges is, “We have a lot of students in our organization who are not stepping up and taking leadership roles when they are available. So what should we do?”

Let’s have a quick moment of honesty; not every student or newer employee is ready to be a leader, at least in the capacity or at the time that we may want/need them to be. And that is OK! Please note: this means students and new employees should still be sought out and empowered to take leadership roles but we need to realize not everyone is looking or ready for that experience. So you need to use your time and resources wisely. That is why I think we need to ask: Are you willing and able to lead? Let’s break that down.

First: Student/Newer employee, are you willing to lead? When we ask this question we are also asking the following questions: Are you excited to lead? Do you have a vision? Do you care enough to prioritize this role? Are you prepared to hold others accountable? Are you ready to make potentially unpopular decisions?

Second:Student/Newer employee, are you able to lead? In asking this question we are also inquiring: Do you have adequate time in your schedule for this? What other leadership experience do you have or have you observed? How do you handle conflicts? Are you good at saying “no?” How do you handle politics and straddling the line of appeasing those above you and pushing your organization’s agenda?

All of a student/newer employee’s answers do not need to be perfect or fully flushed out. There is a lot of value in attempting to lead and struggling at it, as a way of experiential learning. Also, as we all know, we are good at getting in our own way and sometimes we need someone to motivate us to try something new. A good advisor can tell the difference between students who will be overwhelmed by a position and students who are just unsure of themselves. I firmly believe that student/newer employee’s roles are a valuable “leadership residency,” equivalent to a medical residency – just with less blood…hopefully. But rarely do we ask the questions above before a student is in their position. If we did, we, as supervisors and advisors, would be better at setting up our organizations for success because we bring expectations to where there is blind optimism, more concrete thoughts to dreams, and the idea time management into seemingly never-full-enough calendars. If we approached our teams differently, we would see an increase in forethought among our students individually and collectively, as well as a likely decrease in burnout among our student leaders and newer employees.

Supervisors, advisors, and experienced student leaders, it is time to have more honest conversations with your newer employees, students, and peers, respectively, before they take on leadership positions. A little more work upfront will better set up our organizations and communities for greatness. We should ask would-be (or should-be) interested students and newer employees: Are you willing and able to lead?

One of the biggest threats to organizational success are individuals who were part of a system or team when it was working in the past. Reason being, these are the first people to say, “This is the way we have always done it.” AKA, the leadership phrase of death. Sometimes, the most experienced person in the room can have the most negative impact.

Older members gain a somewhat deserved sense of entitlement in our organizations. They have the most experience, have seen what’s worked and what hasn’t, and therefore have earned the right to be listened to. Being the most experienced person does not automatically make them a leader though. There is a big difference between being a leader and being a resource. Leadership is an action, not a title.

Leaders innovate, they are never stagnant, and sure as heck never say “That’s the way we have always done it.” If it ain’t broke, leaders still seek ways to improve it. A good leader does not change everything; a good leader challenges everything.

Here are a number questions to ask your executive board members, advisors, and/or co-workers as you seek to be more innovative in this upcoming academic year:

What programs have we put on the past few years that we are no longer excited about? Remember, just because it’s a tradition, doesn’t mean it’s good.

What events do we do more out of a sense of obligation than out of “our organization gets a lot out of this”?

How can we utilize our more experienced members to make sure they feel valued in our organization?

This year, what will we be great at?

Who are the key players that we need investment from to help make sure that happens? (Note: Everyone is not the answer.)

This year, we will waste less time doing what? How?

What is a new way that we are going to make the members of our organization feel like they have a role in the its success?

One idea for my organization I’ve always had but was always afraid what others would say about it is… (Hint: this is the year, bring it up, get buy in, get it done)

I would love to hear your thoughts about this and/or answers to some of these questions so let’s start the conversation in the comments section below!

Watch your step! That first one is doozie! We have all heard the phrase, “push baby bird out of the nest.” The idea being that at some point in our lives we will have to figure out if we can fly (read: succeed, on our own). We must prove to others and ourselves that what our guardians, parents, mentors, faith communities, school, life experiences, and self reflection have taught us have made us into capable and competent human beings. Let me ask you this, did you learn to swim before or after you got in the pool?

Welcome to Push the Bird. It is a leader’s job to exemplify, challenge, and inspire others to maximize their potential. It’s a leader’s job to push others out of the nest, push them out of their comfort zone. That is what I am hoping Push the Bird will help us all do. Because the moment that you don’t think anything needs to change, is the exact moment it does. Grow with us and feel free to giggle at our delightful wittiness.

A couple things you need to keep in your head while reading our posts… First, know that if I, James Robilotta, am writing a post, I’m looking #PinterestFresh with my beard on point and am constantly getting distracted by my spontaneous need to freestyle rap. Also, know that backing up every post from Push The Bird are countless hours of being a student leader, working with student leaders, and a delightful amount over-analyzing everything.

Lastly, know that with Push The Bird it is my hope to authentically create tangible and relatable seeds for you to take and plant in your own leadership development garden. I will also have awesome student leaders, jazzy student affairs professionals, and business execs write posts for Push the Bird. While I cannot speak for the freshness level of anyone else who writes posts, trust that nothing less than boss-status wordsmiths will be accepted.

So what happens now? Every week, I will send 1 email to all subscribers with 1-2 brief snapshots on leadership. We’ll discuss topics ranging from member recruitment to retention, from shaking hands to social justice, from communication to courtship, from.. you get the point. Sound like something you want to be a part of? Then sign-up here! If you are in, thank you, please try the Kool-Aid. If you would like to see older posts please check out our archive. Finally, feel free to send any feedback and/or ideas to Pushthebird@gmail.com.